Healing of the Centurion's Servant Fr Josef Candelario

Glory to Jesus Christ. Today, a centurion comes

to Christ. Today, a man of great power, authority,

and respect, who commands nearly a hundred soldiers,

is so concerned for the life of his sick and

paralyzed servant. that instead of sending a

messenger, which he could have easily done, he

personally goes to Jesus to ask for his help.

And when Jesus says that he'll go heal him, the

centurion politely refuses. Now, this isn't because

he doesn't want to inconvenience Jesus, or because

he's a high -ranking Roman officer who's somehow

ashamed to be seen welcoming a lowly Jewish vagabond

rabbi into his home. No. he refuses because he's

ashamed of himself. He says, Lord, I am not worthy

to have you come under my roof. I am not worthy.

So why is he not worthy? Why is he not sufficient?

I mean, isn't he a Roman officer? Doesn't he

have a hundred men under his command? And hasn't

he come all this way to personally beg Jesus

to heal his servant? And isn't that commendable

in and of itself? So why is he not worthy? You

see, a Roman soldier, by Roman law, is obliged

to offer incense, a sacrifice of incense to the

pagan gods, most especially to the emperor, whom

they saw as divine. And if you refuse to offer

that incense, well, that's tantamount to high

treason, punishable by death. Now, we're actually

fortunate enough in this church to have a whole

wall of iconography there in the back, dedicated

to the 40 holy martyrs of Sebaste. were Roman

soldiers who were killed precisely because they

would not offer that incense. And so this centurion

is acutely aware of his unworthiness before Christ

because he has retained his position and his

very life by offering incense to foreign idols.

And he clearly knows this is wrong because he

has a growing awareness that the God of the Jews,

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the one true

God. And now this faith has grown to the point

that has moved him to action. Now despite all

of his achievements, despite his rank and his

authority, he can do nothing to heal his servant.

He's just not sufficient. And so he comes to

Jesus. And by coming to Jesus publicly, he's

essentially exposed himself as a believer. Begging

a lowly subject of the Roman Empire, who isn't

even a citizen, someone they consider a barbarian,

who belongs to a religion hostile to theirs,

begging someone like that is way below the dignity

of a Roman officer. Now, it's not only inconceivable,

but it's utterly humiliating. And this, this

is why Christ is astounded. This is why Jesus

marvels, and he only marvels twice. in all the

Gospels. He marvels here at the faith of the

pagan centurion Gentile, and he marvels at the

unbelief of the people of his own hometown of

Nazareth. And so Jesus uses the faith of the

Gentile centurion as a standard with which to

judge his own people. He says, I have not found

such great faith, not even in Israel. And that,

is such a heavy blow to them. Because the people

of Israel have been given everything. They are

the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

They were saved out of Egypt by God. They were

fed and protected by God in the desert. They

were given the Ten Commandments. God literally

lived in their midst in the tabernacle and then

in the temple. And then God gave them prophets

who wrote about Christ. In short, they were given

every advantage possible. for their salvation.

So by all means, they should be sufficient. They

should be worthy. They should have faith in Christ.

So how could they possibly fall short? How could

it be that they don't have as much faith as this

pagan Gentile? You know, this forces me to think

about all of the advantages I've been given in

my own spiritual life. I was given the seal of

the gift of the Holy Spirit at baptism, and the

law of God was written on my heart. I had a great

catechist. I've had the best spiritual fathers

anyone can ask for. I have the whole Bible at

my fingertips. And whenever I wander away, when

I miss the mark, when I make mistakes and push

God away, I'm shown grace and given the opportunity

to repent and reconcile with God. through confession

and forgiveness of my sins. I'm given even more

advantages than the Jews ever had, unimaginably

more. And yet, I find myself constantly squandering

it all. I walk out of those doors, and I so quickly

forget about God and the priceless gifts he's

given me. You see, I'm not like that centurion

who humbled himself to take care of his sick

servant. How often is it? that I encounter people

begging in the street and I just walk by them

without ever looking them in the eye or stopping

to ask what they need? How often is it that I'm

too caught up in my own world, in my own ego,

that I'm completely unaware of how I can personally

alleviate the suffering of my family members

or the members of my community? And even if I

am aware, honestly, how often is it that I try

my darndest to take the easy route, the least

costly to me, the most convenient way for me

to help them. Remember, the centurion's faith

moves him to action at great cost to himself,

at great cost to his own reputation. It moves

him to imitate Christ, to become a living icon

of the Good Samaritan, to become an embodiment

of the shepherd who leaves the 99 to find the

one lost sheep. But more than that, Can you imagine

what sort of impression that must have made on

the soldiers under his command? Or on the people

in the area who knew him and respected him? I

mean, there's no way he could have hidden this.

Can you imagine what kind of witness that was?

Imagine how many people were primed to receive

the good news of the resurrection after seeing

or hearing about this. And yet, that pagan centurion...

had received none of the advantages that the

Jews had, none of the advantages that I have.

You see, I have no excuse. So when I fail to

act like Christ, when I neglect his commandments

out of convenience, when I fail to recognize

my Lord and God in the face of his children,

in the face of my wife, my teachers, the person

serving my coffee, or even in the face of...

that co -worker or classmate who just really

annoys me. Then I have failed to recognize God

himself. And yet, I dare to walk into church

on Sunday and receive his body and blood into

my home, into my own body, into my soul. When

I do that, the only thing that awaits me, as

Jesus says, is outer darkness, where there will

be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Now, This outer

darkness, brothers and sisters, this is not a

place prepared for people who don't already know

Christ, who don't know his gospel, his commandments,

who haven't received the mysteries of baptism,

chrismation, the Eucharist, confession. It's

for us, who have received the fullness of the

truth, yet do nothing with these great gifts.

You see, if I'm not using God's gifts to heal

his broken world, and to make it more and more

like the kingdom of heaven each and every day,

if I'm not moved by my faith to action, then

my soul is no better off than that centurion's

servant, paralyzed and greatly afflicted. But

today, when Christ marvels at that centurion,

he's calling us to marvel with him, because he's

pointing out that centurion as a standard for

us to emulate in his words. his deeds and disposition

towards Christ. And it is this disposition of

humility that God wants for us. As we pray so

often, a sacrifice unto God is a broken spirit,

a heart that is broken and humbled. God will

not despise. It is this disposition of humility

that has granted Gentiles like this centurion

the reward of sitting at table with Abraham,

Isaac, and Jacob in heaven. So let us also be

among them. In just a little while, when the

holy chalice comes out of the altar, come forward

boldly to meet Christ like the centurion, with

profound awareness of your unworthiness, but

with firm faith in the goodness, the love, and

the power of Christ, which makes you worthy to

receive him. And make the centurion's words your

own words. I am not sufficient, O Lord, that

you should come under the roof of my soul, but

with trust I draw nigh. And then, and only then,

will the amazing and wonderful gifts that God

has given us abundantly manifest in our lives.

And perhaps then, God will also marvel at us.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and

of the Holy Spirit. Glory to Jesus Christ.